Archive for the Automobiles Category

The 1960s were a very turbulent time, in almost all aspects of life. Blacks integrated with whites; people burned draft cards and bras; and “the Establishment” was slowly losing its grip on the collective kultur.

This 1965 advertisement is from Sunbeam, a long-dead British carmaker who seems to have had a crisis of its own. For some reason, they stuffed a Ford V-8 engine into their Alpine convertible, turning their milquetoast sporty runabout into a ferocious beast called the Tiger. (Well, more ferocious than the Alpine, but not as fast as a modern-day SUV.) If the car looks familiar, it’s because it starred in Get Smart‘s opening scenes for a few years.

One could just imagine the nightmares that Sunbeam’s US advertising agency had, when they thought of ways to market the vehicle: An English-American “hybrid animal” with a decidedly fey brand name. “Easy,” they must’ve exclaimed over martinis in a smoky conference room, “let’s use sex to sell this car! Ask that creepy guy named Bundy down in copy to whip-up a few lines.”

Incredibly, England’s own Aston Martin, had the cojones to slap their stickers on a Scion iQ and call it a scion of the once-legendary marque. Complete with a leather interior and the worst interpretation of the AM grille in history, the Cygnet says “goodbye” to this world after only two years in production.

The only Aston Martin to always start-up; never to leak; and made in Japan.

The worst part? It’s probably the most reliable Aston in history, considering it’s a Toyota. Read more here.